The argument underlying the ongoing paradigm shift from logical-positivism to constructionism is briefly outlined. A model of evaluation planning, implementation, and management (the P-I-M model) is then presented, which assumes a complementarity between the two paradigms. The P-I-M Model includes three components of educational evaluation: a…

A Bill (S. 2034) with a short title of the "National Education Report Card Act of 1990," was introduced in the Senate by Senators Bingaman, Mitchell, Kennedy, and Harkin. The contents of this Act include the following sections: findings, establishment, membership and appointments, functions, interim council report, annual report card,…

This preliminary report presents information about the first of four components of an assessment of social studies conducted in Manitoba (Canada) in June, 1989. The assessment was conducted at grades 4, 8, and 10. The four major components included: (1) a written or "pencil-and-paper" test for all three grade levels; (2) a survey of…

As more public money is spent on educational reform, the issue of school accountability arises more often. California high schools have traditionally participated in an external validation process to gain accreditation from the regional commission, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). Schools that receive compensatory funding…

This paper discusses the literacy situation in Thailand, where, while literacy is regarded as the basic right of every Thai, the greater proportion of the population reads at the elementary level. The paper first examines the national policy on literacy, focusing on problems which remain to be tackled under the Fifth National Economic and Social…

Educators from six countries (Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, and Thailand) offered descriptions of new developments in secondary education in their countries. The proceedings from the meeting is divided into six chapters: (1) Introduction; (2) Major trends and issues in secondary education; (3) Innovative models of…

The use of outcome assessment in special education is reviewed. Outcome assessments differ widely in design, measures, and data collection, but they share a common focus on outcomes as individual achievements, statuses, or behaviors. Assessments of special education outcomes often have an evaluative purpose in reflecting how well the special…

The belief that fiscal support of a postsecondary institution is directly related to its overall excellence has been generally accepted and used as an argument when seeking funds for achieving excellence. Problems arise, however, in citing specific data to substantiate this claim. To determine the effect of changes in fiscal support on the quality…

The literature on the practice of educational evaluation is reviewed, and internal and external evaluations in a school setting are compared. The paper states that the typical external evaluation is conducted as if school districts were rational organizations, a view which permeated 19th century evaluation activities. The internal evaluator, on…

In response to recently raised concerns about the effective integration of general education into community college occupational programs, this report offers a review of the literature on general education and its place in the vocational curriculum. First, definitions of general education are presented and synthesized into the following…

This paper provides an overview of instructional evaluation in higher education with a special emphasis upon student evaluation of teaching. The paper includes an examination of the context for evaluation, components of evaluation, and research on student evaluation of instruction, and it proposes a series of recommendations for the implementation…

An ideal system of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), from the local school district perspective, must follow several principles based on the 1985 Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing: (1) Testing must be viewed by teachers and students as worthwhile. (2) Test results must be presented in a timely and useful…

This evaluation focused on staff development activities in mathematics, science, and computer science in New York City schools during 1985-86. Workshops for mathematics teachers and supervisors were designed to help participants implement new curricular mandates. Participants rated the training positively and felt it would be useful and had…

This handbook is designed to serve as a resource for Alaskan district-level administrators in charge of planning, implementing and monitoring districtwide student assessment programs. The information is divided into 10 chapters, including: (1) aligning assessment with curriculum and instruction; (2) planning an assessment program; (3)…

Florida's Meritorious School Act provides monetary rewards for meritorious schools in each of the state's 67 districts when the schools are identified using approved procedures. The law calls for each district to develop its own plan for selecting winning schools. Each school must be selected in part by being in the upper quartile of district…